City Gateway Inspection Report
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City Gateway Inspection report Unique reference number: 58841 Name of lead inspector: Robert Hamp HMI Last day of inspection: 3 December 2010 Type of provider: Independent learning provider City Gateway 15 Heron Quays Address: London E14 4JB Telephone number: 020 3189 0395 Published date 12 January 2011 Inspection Number 364060 Inspection Report: City Gateway Ltd, 3 December 2010 1 of 15 Information about the provider 1. City Gateway is a charity set up in 1999. Its youth training activities take place at three sites in Tower Hamlets, East London. The chief executive officer heads a senior management team of eight, including a director of strategy and development and a head of training and employment. The senior management team is accountable to a Board of Trustees. City Gateway has 120 staff of whom 63 are employed part time and 31 who work in the training and employment department. 2. Fifty-nine learners are on apprenticeship programmes funded by the Skills Funding Agency. There are 20 sports apprentices, 24 information and communication technology (ICT) apprentices and 15 customer service apprentices. Customer service was not inspected. Apprenticeship funding accounts for about 16% of City Gateway’s total income. 3. The charity targets young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or those who are at risk of becoming NEET. Almost all learners progress onto apprenticeship programmes from City Gateway’s pre- apprenticeship programme. There are 27% of learners who enter the pre- apprenticeship scheme who have high levels of safeguarding risk. Over 70% of pre–apprenticeship learners have no qualifications and 57% have English as an additional language. 4. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets contains examples of extreme deprivation alongside global corporate businesses located in Canary Wharf and within the City Of London. Youth unemployment is high at 23.4% compared with 14.5% across Greater London. Minority ethnic groups make up 50% of the population and 66.3% of pupils achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C compared with 70% nationally. Type of provision Number of enrolled learners in 2009/10 Employer provision: Apprenticeships 77 apprentices Inspection Report: City Gateway Ltd, 3 December 2010 2 of 15 Summary report Grades: 1 is outstanding; 2 is good; 3 is satisfactory; 4 is inadequate Overall effectiveness of provision Grade 1 Capacity to improve Grade 1 Grade Outcomes for learners 1 Quality of provision 1 Leadership and management 1 Safeguarding 1 Equality and diversity 1 Subject Areas Information and communication technology for users 1 Sport, leisure and recreation 2 Overall effectiveness 5. City Gateway is an outstanding provider with many outstanding features. All staff are keen to offer support and they get to know learners well. Learners feel that they have a very safe and friendly place to learn. Learners gain excellent employability skills and are developing their personal and social skills significantly to improve their social and economic potential. Some learners are involved in community activities such as organising events to engage others or in fundraising activities. 6. Learners make outstanding progress on their courses and the vast majority finish their programmes within agreed timescales. All learners report that they enjoy their learning very much and speak positively about how their attitudes and expectations have been completely transformed from very low self-esteem and outlook to real optimism for the future. Teaching and learning and assessment are outstanding. Learners benefit from learning activities that are lively, stimulating and challenging. 7. Courses are planned very well to fit the needs and interests of learners and to provide them with relevant skills, knowledge and confidence to secure full-time employment. The identification of individual needs and the support provided to learners is outstanding. Many learners find appropriate employment and work Inspection Report: City Gateway Ltd, 3 December 2010 3 of 15 placements in global corporate organisations. This provides others with confidence and a determination to achieve. Learners and staff gain real benefits from partnership arrangements with businesses who are keen to provide their time and practical support and offer employment opportunities. 8. City Gateway’s leadership and management are outstanding. The charity has a clear focus on providing hope for local young people. Arrangements to promote the safeguarding of learners are outstanding. The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. The self-assessment process is fully inclusive and the self-assessment report is highly accurate but lacks some detail. The overall effectiveness of the provision is outstanding. Main findings Outcomes for learners are outstanding. Overall success and the success rate for learners completing within agreed timescales on the ICT apprenticeship is outstanding. The success rate for the customer service apprenticeship is very high. The overall success rate for learners on the sport apprenticeship is good. Learners are making outstanding progress. Learners demonstrate high levels of motivation and confidence and are keen to succeed. They make substantial improvements in their economic and social well-being. Learners gain valuable work experience and work skills with major corporate employers and businesses in the City of London and Canary Wharf. A significantly high proportion of apprentices secure full-time employment. Learners feel very safe. They use safe working practices. Sports learners have a good understanding of healthy eating. Many learners are able to make a positive contribution to the community through voluntary work and fundraising activities. Teaching, training and assessment are outstanding. Learners enjoy learning in work placements very much. Sports learners particularly enjoy developing their literacy and numeracy skills. Assessment arrangements are very well planned and flexible. Feedback to learners is highly effective. The system for observing teaching and learning is effective and well developed. Programmes meet learners’ and employers’ needs vey well. Programmes in sport are particularly well designed for progress into employment within the industry. Opportunities for a few learners to progress to higher qualifications in some areas are limited. The development of employability skills is particularly good. Employers value highly the contribution that learners make to their organisations. Partnership arrangements are outstanding. Learners are encouraged to work and mix with others from different communities and backgrounds to help them learn and prepare them more effectively for employment. Partnerships are used effectively to provide employment opportunities and promote social inclusion. Care, guidance and support for learners are outstanding. Learners benefit from excellent support and information, advice and guidance. Individual support plans provide learners with an excellent foundation to overcome significant Inspection Report: City Gateway Ltd, 3 December 2010 4 of 15 barriers and to help them achieve. Learners speak positively about how staff motivate them and take time to understand their individual needs. Leadership and management are outstanding. The charity has a well- established and successful partnership with the Borough of Tower Hamlets for reducing the number of young people who are or may become NEET. The senior management team has a strong commitment to continuous improvement. Stakeholder involvement in managing and improving the provision is highly effective. Arrangements to promote the safeguarding of learners are outstanding. Processes and support arrangements are clear, well defined and understood by all learners. Comprehensive risk assessment and health and safety arrangements are in place and are promoted well. Arrangements for working with neighbourhood groups, statutory bodies and referral agencies are highly effective. The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. All staff and learners have a very good understanding and awareness of equality and diversity which is covered well in the curriculum. Managers systematically monitor the performance of different groups of learners. Young leaders are used effectively to promote equality and diversity, particularly in the community. User involvement to promote improvement is outstanding. Learners report that they feel involved and included in decision making. Employers are involved well in providing feedback about the quality of provision and are actively engaged in supporting learners through shadowing, joint events and input into learning sessions. The self-assessment process is fully inclusive and the self-assessment report is highly accurate. However, the subject sector area reports lack clear focus. Quality improvement arrangements are well developed and effective. The system for observing teaching and learning is well established and accurate. What does City Gateway need to do to improve further? Continue to maintain and improve the overall success and success rate of learners completing within agreed timescales on all apprenticeship programmes. Improve the self-assessment report by adopting a more focused approach to the reporting of specific programme areas. Continue to broaden the type and level of qualifications offered to learners to provide further opportunities for local learners and further development opportunities for current learners. Summary of the views of users as confirmed by